"In the current cultural context, the term is used to describe low-quality digital content produced en masse using artificial intelligence. Slop refers to the proliferation of absurd (and sometimes disturbing) videos and images in social media: from an emotional support kangaroo that isn't allowed to travel by plane, to a baby with its own podcast, a cat climbing the Eiffel Tower, or a golden statue of Donald Trump in Gaza. All that stuff dumped on our screens, captured in just four letters: the English language came through again."
"Like slime, sludge, and muck, slop has the wet sound of something you don't want to touch. Slop oozes into everything, Merriam-Webster explained regarding the name. In the 18th century, the word was used to refer to soft mud, but in the 19th century it came to mean food waste. Over time, the term acquired a broader meaning and began to be used to describe something of little or no value."
Merriam-Webster chose 'slop' as its 2025 word of the year to label the surge of low-quality digital images and videos produced en masse by artificial intelligence. The term captures absurd and sometimes disturbing creations circulating on social media, such as an emotional support kangaroo barred from flying, a baby hosting a podcast, a cat scaling the Eiffel Tower, or a golden statue of Donald Trump in Gaza. The word's history moves from soft mud to food waste to something of little value. Editors say the choice highlights AI's limited creative threat because much generated content remains low quality, though political manipulation has occurred.
Read at english.elpais.com
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